BC Wildfire has sent an incident management team to take over control of the Thomas Creek wildfire and the Brenda Creek wildfire, which is now being called the Okanagan Complex.
The team was called in to help manage the two fires, which are characterized as out of control by BC Wildfire. The incident management team is already in the Okanagan and will be assuming responsibility for the fires today.
“BC Wildfire has six incident management teams that move around depending on the priority of the fire, and where the need is best. This is one of the higher priority fires in the province right now,” said fire information officer Mike McCulley.
Incident management teams consist of groups of highly trained staff and specialists to help with sections of incident commands such as planning, operations, logistics and finance, among others. The team will take some of the pressure off the local fire zone and the local fire centre, allowing both to manage new fires or other fires in the area.
Currently, there is no set timeline for how long the incident management team will remain in the area.
“It’s all based on priority, and priorities change all the time,” said McCulley.
READ MORE: Area restriction ordered for Brenda Creek wildfire
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